The sheltering of boats presents many problems not encountered in conventional structures. Permanent boat houses can be very expensive due to the terrain encountered along the shoreline, and can be destructive to the environment.
As a result of the problems associated with permanent boat houses, various floating type structures have been proposed in the prior art. Many such structures involve the use of a floating boat dock which is tied to the shoreline and is then covered by a conventional land based shelter. However, covering floating docks with a land based type shelter does not accommodate rising and falling tides, winds and turbulent water making such rigid structures impractical for covering boats.
The prior art has attempted to incorporate some built-in resiliency to avoid stress on land based type shelters supported on floating docks. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,643,464 issued Sep. 27, 1927 discloses a floating dock having a plurality of sections that could be bolted together to support an aluminum roof. Two spaced floats supported the structure when assembled. This type of structure is generally unsatisfactory, however, due to the weight and permanence of the structure. It cannot be easily assembled and moved and the dock portion remains highly susceptible to rocking in waves and wind that can damage the boat being sheltered.
Consequently, it would be desirable to provide a portable marine shelter that is easy to assemble and install on the water surface, and to provide a floatation system that can accommodate wave and wind generated motion without unduly stressing the boat sheltered therein.